Modern Languages - BA (Hons)

Course structure

Duration: 3 years full-time

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. 

Modules

If you are studying one language, you must choose modules with a total of 120 credits at each stage:

• 30 credits from the language modules (corresponding to your language of study)
• 30 credits from two route-defining modules
• 30 credits from free choice modules (corresponding to your language of study)
• 30 credits from the wild modules

If you are studying two languages, you must choose modules with a total of 120 credits at each stage:

• 60 credits from two language modules (corresponding to your languages of study)
• 30 credits from two route-defining modules
• 30 credits from free choice modules (corresponding to your languages of study)

Stage 1

Language modules

• ITAL3010 - Italian Beginners A1-A2 Intensive (optional for post-A level students)
• FREN3000 - French Lower Intermediate B1
• FREN3300 - French Beginners A1-A2 Intensive
• HISP3000 - Spanish Lower Intermediate B1
• HISP3020 - Spanish Beginners A1-A2 Intensive
• GRMN3010 - German Lower Intermediate B1
• GRMN3290 - German Beginners A1-A2 Intensive

Route-defining

• LANG 4002 - Global cultures of business
• LANG 4003 - Culture & Heritage: Foundations
• LANG 4004 - Resistance and Revolution

Free choice modules

• ITAL3150 - Introduction to Italian Modernity
• ITAL3120 - Introduction to Italian Cinema
• FREN3001 - Introduction to Francophone Literature and Culture
• FREN3080 - Questions of French Cinema
• FREN3100 - Twentieth Century France in Crisis 
• GRMN3120 - Images of Germany 1945-Present
• GRMN3280 - Post-1989 German Cinema
• HISP3120 - Identity, Politics and Power in the Hispanic World
• HISP3190 - State-Building in Latin America
• HUMA4000 - The Home
• HUMA4001 - The Wild

Stage 2

Language modules

• ITAL5080 - Italian Intermediate B1-B2 Intensive
• FREN6520 - French Intermediate B1-B2 Intensive
• FREN6480 - French Upper Intermediate B2
• HISP5040 - Spanish Intermediate B1-B2 Intensive
• HISP5050 - Spanish Upper Intermediate B2
• GRMN5160 - German Intermediate B1-B2 Intensive
• GRMN5070 - German Upper Intermediate B2

Route-defining modules

• Branding the Nation: National Identity in the Global Marketplace
• Culture & Heritage: History
• What makes a nation? Sovereignty, Power and Identity
• Languages in the Classroom

Free choice modules

• LANG5001 - Cultures of Sustainability
• HISP5850 - Professional Spanish
• FREN5900 - Professional French
• GRMN5960 - Professional German
• ITAL5810 - Professional Italian
• HISP5710 - After Dictatorship: Spain and Latin America
• HISP5620 - The Legacy of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity in Latin America
• ITAL5780 - Musica Maestro! Music and Society in Modern Italy
• ITAL5760 - The Make-Up: Representations of Gender in Italy
• FREN5990 - Description of Modern French
• FREN6200 - The Art of Memory: Childhood in Modern French Literature
• FREN5002 - Encore! Music and Society in Modern French Culture
• GRMN5530 - From Gutenberg to Facebook: How Technology and Media Shaped German History
• GRMN5710 - The Lyric Imagination
• GRMN5730 - The German Novelle

Year abroad (optional)

It is possible to study the BA in Modern Languages as a three-year programme, or to take the four-year BA in Modern Languages with a Year Abroad.

Going abroad as part of your degree is an amazing experience and a chance to develop personally, academically and professionally.  You experience a different culture, gain a new academic perspective, establish international contacts and enhance your employability.

The Year Abroad is assessed on a pass/fail basis and will not count towards your final degree classification. You spend the year working as an English language assistant or in approved employment, or studying at one of our partner universities.

• LANG0001 - Modern Languages Year Abroad Module

Stage 3 

Language modules

• ITAL5060 - Italian Advanced C1
• FREN6490 - French Advanced C1
• HISP5060 - Spanish Advanced C1
• GRMN5030 - German Advanced C1

Route-defining modules

• Global commodities
• Culture & Heritage: The Contemporary
• Crisis, aftermath and memory
• Language Teachers at Work

Free choice modules

• TBC - Modern Languages Project/Dissertation
• HISP5840 - Spanish for Business
• ITAL5800 - Italian for Business
• FREN5920 - French for Business
• GRMN5950 - German for Business
• HISP5630 - Terrorism and State Terror in Latin America
• ITAL5770 - Italian regional cinema
• ITAL5640 - Istantanea: Visual culture in contemporary Italy
• SCL504 - European Political Cinema
• GRMN5850 - Order and Madness: Classical German Literature
• FREN5610 - At the Movies: French Film Since 1990
• FREN6460 - Crossing Borders: French and Francophone Travel Writing

Teaching and assessment

Compulsory language modules typically involve three to four hours of classes per week, including one hour of small group work with a native speaker. We also make extensive use of computer-assisted language learning packages and audio and video materials. 

Culture and literature modules typically involve a weekly two-hour seminar plus essay supervision. We employ language lectors, who are all native speakers, to help students improve their fluency and make rapid progress.

At all stages, assessment is based 100% on coursework (essays, oral presentations) in the first half of the year, and a combination of coursework and examination in the second half of the year. Credits from your year abroad count towards your final degree.

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

• Provide a sound grounding in the target language(s) in all its aspects, through extensive reading in the target language(s) and through the use of the target language(s) as a spoken and written medium, including translation.
• Prime students for the job market through training in intercultural communication, language mediation, cultural production, teaching, translation in the target language(s) and in the culture(s) of the target language(s)
• Offer an integrated and multi-disciplinary curriculum related to the study of contemporary Europe and Latin America in the areas of language, culture, cultural production (e.g. literature, cinema, media, etc.), social and political history.
• Develop a critical awareness of the cultures and societies of the countries/regions in which the target languages(s) are used from the 17^th century to the 21^st century.
• Provide teaching which is informed by current research and scholarship and which requires students to engage with aspects of work at the frontiers of knowledge.
• Contribute to widening participation in higher education by offering a wide variety of entry routes.
• Meet the educational needs of a diversity of students.

• Provide opportunities for the development of personal, communication, research, intercultural awareness, and other key skills appropriate for graduate employment both in industry and in the public sector.
• Develop general critical, analytical, and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of situations.
• Provide students with the opportunity to improve their language communication skills in educational, professional, and social contexts.
• Enable students to acquire or increase first-hand knowledge of the cultures of the target languages.
• Produce graduates of value to the region, nationally and internationally, in possession of key knowledge and skills.
• Prepare students for employment or further study
• Provide learning opportunities that are enjoyable experiences, involve realistic workloads, are based within a research-led framework, and offer appropriate support for students from a diverse range of backgrounds.
• Provide high quality teaching in supportive environments with appropriately qualified and trained staff.

For students on BA (Hons) in Modern Languages with a Year Abroad the course additionally aims to: Provide students with the opportunity to spend half an academic year for each chosen language in the countries or regions in which the target languages are used. They may attend one of the partner universities, work as a language assistant in a school through the British Council, or arrange suitable employment (which must be verified by the University of Kent).

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

• The target language(s)
• Cultural products (e.g. literature, film, media) of the countries in which target language(s) are used 
• Histories, societies, and politics of the countries in which target language(s) are used 
• Critical theories of the countries in which target language(s) are used
• Cultural theories of the countries in which target language(s) are used 

Intellectual skills

• Apply the skills needed for academic study and enquiry 
• Evaluate information critically 
• Synthesise information from a number of sources in order to gain a coherent understanding of the subject 
• Utilise communication skills (e.g. reading, writing, listening and speaking) for the coherent expression and transfer of knowledge 
• Analyse, evaluate and interpret a variety of texts and other cultural products in a critical manner 

Subject-specific skills

• Communicate effectively in the target language(s) for a range of purposes and audiences, deploying effectively the appropriate structures and registers of the target language(s) 
• Develop language skills in reception (e.g. listening and reading); production (e.g. speaking and writing); mediation between two languages (e.g. translation and intercultural communication) 
• Analyse critically a variety of texts be they journalistic, historical, visual or literary 
• Gain intercultural awareness and competence, and an appreciation of cultural diversity 
• Ability to mediate and to display qualities of empathy in an intercultural context 
• Acquire intercultural awareness through everyday experience of and interaction with target language(s)-speaking communities.

Transferable skills

• Communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals using a variety of means
• Problem-solving: identifying problems; assessing the strengths and weaknesses of different solutions; defending the preferred solutions with cogent arguments 
• Improving individual learning: identifying individual strengths and weaknesses; assessing the quality of one’s own work; managing one’s time and meeting deadlines; learning to work independently 
• Working with others: participating in seminar discussions, responding to the views of others and to criticisms of one’s own views without giving or taking offence; engaging in independent group work, including the preparation of group presentations 
• Using information technology, for example: word-processing essays; using on-line information sources; using e-mail and social networks for work; curating a blog; searching databases; recording video presentations.

Careers

The ability to speak a language other than English is a key asset in the global employment market, and many employers view a graduate with an additional language as more employable.

Through your studies, you also acquire many of the transferable skills considered essential by graduate employers. These include the ability to work independently and as part of a team, the confidence to offer creative solutions when faced with challenges, and the ability to express your ideas with clarity and passion. 

Our graduates go into areas such as: international banking, diplomacy, publishing, journalism, interpreting and translating, European media, and language teaching. Some also go on to postgraduate study in fields as varied as international journalism, visual studies and translation.

Help finding a job

The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service which can give you advice on how to:

• apply for jobs
• write a good CV
• perform well in interviews.

Work experience

We offer a number of modules with direct relevance to the world of work, including options that focus on teaching and on writing in the media.

Career-enhancing skills

Alongside specialist skills, you also develop the transferable skills graduate employers look for, including the ability to:

• think critically
• communicate your ideas and opinions
• work independently and as part of a team.

You can gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as volunteering.